Trust for Public Land
“To create parks and protect land for people.”
The work
What they do
Creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “CREATES PARKS AND PROTECTS LAND FOR PEOPLE, ENSURING HEALTHY, LIVABLE COMMUNITIES.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Land
$174.2MWE COMPLETED 58 CONSERVATION TRANSACTIONS THAT PROTECTED 100,060 ACRES.
Including $145,972,899 granted onward, most of it $2,525,000 to Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Of Georgia.
Read it as they filed it
LAND - WE COMPLETED 58 CONSERVATION TRANSACTIONS THAT PROTECTED 100,060 ACRES.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Park And Schoolyard
$62.0MWE COMPLETED 13 NEW SCHOOLYARDS AND 2 NEW PARKS.
Including $4,109,745 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
PARK AND SCHOOLYARD - WE COMPLETED 13 NEW SCHOOLYARDS AND 2 NEW PARKS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Fund
$2.9MWE HELPED PASS 24 STATE AND LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES--A 100 PERCENT SUCCESS RATE-- THAT GENERATED $16,110,864,240 IN PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PARKS AND NATURAL SPACES.
Including $1,509,674 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
FUND - WE HELPED PASS 24 STATE AND LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES--A 100 PERCENT SUCCESS RATE-- THAT GENERATED $16,110,864,240 IN PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PARKS AND NATURAL SPACES.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
85 cents of every dollar goes to the work
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and Trust for Public Land is nowhere near one.
Backed on the record by William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund, Walton Family Foundation and 4 others, latest filing FY24.
$238,963,649 programs, $24,029,738 management, $19,543,407 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at TPL? Claim this page.
Those 331 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If TPL is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 332The filings
14 years of filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2012 | $114,014,098 |
| 2013 | $130,680,540 |
| 2014 | $144,134,370 |
| 2015 | $136,141,221 |
| 2016 | $138,000,756 |
| 2017 | $144,275,734 |
| 2018 | $62,693,602 |
| 2018 | $137,307,989 |
| 2019 | $142,134,426 |
| 2020 | $141,296,610 |
| 2021 | $144,472,811 |
| 2022 | $193,309,210 |
| 2023 | $297,379,545 |
| 2025 | $301,245,450 |
From $114.0M in 2012 to $301.2M in FY25, across 14 public filings. The 2025 peak of $301.2M reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
The record
On the Hill
Trust for Public Land has hired federal lobbyists: 34 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 21 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on budget/appropriations, real estate/land use/conservation and transportation.
Help complete this profile. If you work here, claim it to add your current campaigns, recent wins, and the best way for supporters to get involved.
Ways in
How to help
85 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Trust for Public Land
54 years on the ground, 331 volunteers, 85 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.